Court rules against Montana

Ban on corporate campaign spending ruled unconstitutional

The U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed its 2010 Citizens United case on June 25 by striking down Montana’s century-old ban on corporate campaign spending.

The justices ruled 5-4 that their earlier ruling applies to both federal and state election laws. The Citizens United case guarantees corporate and labor union interests the right to spend freely in advocating for or against candidates running for state or local offices, they said.

Their ruling is grounded in the constitutional right to freedom of speech, and corporations have a constitutional right to be heard in election campaigns, the Supreme Court’s justices ruled.

The case was brought to the high court by Virginia-based American Tradition Partnership, formerly Western Tradition Partnership. They were joined by Champion Painting, of Bozeman, and Montana Shooting Sports Association, of Missoula.

ATP challenged Montana’s century-old ban in 2011. The 1912 Corrupt Practices Act was passed by a citizens ballot initiative in reaction to control of state politics by the “Copper Kings” in Butte.

Helena District Court Judge Jeffrey Sherlock initially struck down the ban in October 2010, citing the Citizens United decision, but the Montana Supreme Court reversed Sherlock’s ruling in December 2011.

ATP appealed the state high court’s ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, which stayed the state high court’s ruling on Feb. 17. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Justice Stephen Breyer, who dissented in the Citizens United case, said at the time that they agreed with the stay but showed interest in taking a second look at the Citizens United case.

“Montana’s experience, and experience elsewhere since this Court’s decision in Citizens United, make it exceedingly difficult to maintain that independent expenditures by corporations ‘do not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption,’” their statement said.

Twenty-two states and the District of Columbia joined in support of Montana, as the impact of the Citizens United case became readily evident in this year’s Republican presidential primary by the large sums spent by SuperPACS. That impact is already being felt in Montana.

The U.S. Senate race between incumbent Democrat Jon Tester and Republican challenger Rep. Denny Rehberg could turn out to be the most expensive race in Montana history. In addition to SuperPAC money, the two candidates have raised more than $12 million and spent more than $5.6 million by mid-June.

In a debate between the two on June 16 at the Montana Newspaper Association convention in Big Sky, Rehberg defended the Citizens United decision while calling for transparency in reporting.

“There should be nothing more free than political free speech,” Rehberg said.

Tester responded by saying “corporations are not people.”

His fellow Democrat, Sen. Max Baucus, has been calling for a constitutional amendment to address the Citizens United case for well over a year.

“This decision is a dangerous blow to democracy,” Baucus said about the recent decision. “But our fight is far from over. One hundred years ago, Montanans stood up and said elections belong to us, not to the Copper Kings. And today we say the same thing. Our elections are not for sale to corporations. My constitutional amendment would right this wrong once and for all, and today’s announcement makes me more determined than ever to get it done.”